Investment firm LionGrove purchases Wyndham Grand Rio Mar resort
By The Star Staff
Hospitality investment firm LionGrove announced Thursday the purchase of the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort in Río Grande for an undisclosed amount.
The resort will continue to be part of the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts family and will retain its current Wyndham Grand brand, the firm said in a statement.
“We are extremely pleased with this fantastic new addition to the LionGrove portfolio,” said Andro Nodarse-León, founder and CEO of LionGrove. “We now own three fantastic hotels and operate two of them on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, representing almost 900 keys in combined rooms inventory.”
Andrew Dickey and the team at JLL represented the seller. Mark Fisher and the capital markets team at JLL represented LionGrove alongside its chief investment officer, Phil Wade, on the financing of the acquisition.
Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort joins the Wyndham Palmas Beach & Golf Resort as the second well known Puerto Rico resort to be owned and operated by LionGrove.
“This latest acquisition grows the LionGrove family to approximately 750 team members across the two hotels we operate,” Nodarse-Leon added.
“With this acquisition, our firm grows as a unique, innovative hotel owner and operator while very favorably impacting the Puerto Rico hotel industry, economy and community,” said Chris Sariego, senior managing director and COO of LionGrove.
Amadeo Zarzosa, LionGrove’s senior vice president, has been appointed as general manager of the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar.
Only 30 minutes from the San Juan metropolitan area and fronting the ocean at the Rio Grande beach, the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort is located on some 600 acres with two miles of beachfront and views of El Yunque National Forest. The resort features 400 guest rooms, nine restaurants, two championship golf courses, 13 tennis courts, a spa, a casino and some 100,000 square feet of diverse indoor and outdoor spaces for wedding events, conferences and conventions.